Shopping bag



Oct. 8, 1929.

E. c. CARLSON SHOPPING BAG Filed Feb. 15, 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet l timerChFForcl Carlson Oct. 8, 1929. E. c. CARLSON SHOPPING BAG Filed Feb. 15,1926 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 flmerG/ifford Carlson Patented Oct. 8, 1929UNITEDSTATES ELMEB CLIFFORD GARLSON, F MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA SHOPPINGBAG Application filed February 15, 1926. Serial No. 88,176.

My invention relates to improvements in bags and has for its object toprovide a sightly shopping bag of commodious dimensions adapted to bereadily converted into a relatively small and compact handbag, which isneat and attractive in appearance.

A more specific object of the invention resides in providing areceptacle, open at its top, consisting of front and back body members,the front body member having a purse attached to its upper marginalportion, the back body member having a keeper flap similarly attachedthereto, said bagbeing foldable transversely to bring the lower portionthereof upon the upper portion, the folded structure thus formed beingthereafter foldable on lines extending from top to bottom thereof tobring wing-like portions of said structure together edge to edge beneaththe flap for engagement therewith, whereby a pouch is left availablebetween saidbody members and a second'pouch is provided be tween thefolded portions of said members.

A further objectresides in cutting away the upper corners of the bodymembers, so that said wing-like portions may fold freiely belowthe seamof said flap and into position permitting said flap to lie flatlythereagairist.

. WVith the foregoing and other objects'in View, which will appearin'the following descri tion, the invention resides in the novel comination and arrangement of parts and in the details of constructionhereinafter described and claimed.

In the drawings illustrating my invention:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of my improved shopping bag illustratingthe same in extended form.

Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1 illustrat 59 a receptacle A, which isconstructed of a ing the bag from one side thereof in folded a linerunning from top to bottom. of the,

single piece of coated fabric or other suitable material doubled upalong a transverse line 11 to provide front and back body members 12 and13. These members are sewed together (not shown) or otherwise securedalong their edges 14 and 15 so as to form an open ended containeradapted to receive and hold parcels. On the body members 12 and 13 atthe upper edges thereof are attached two loops 17 and 18 which may beconstructed of leather, webbing or the same material as the bag andwhich are stitched along said edges toform handles by means whereof thebag may be conveniently carried in either its extended or folded form.The upper corners of the body members 12 and 13 are cut away to give thebag a pleasing appearance and at the same time to serve a purpose to belater described. The edges of the bag at the mouth thereof are neatlyhemmed or bound asindicated at 19 to strengthen the bag and add to itsappearance.

To convert the bag into a handbag, the lower portion 20 ofsaid bag isfolded transversely along a line 21 so as to bring this portion of thebag upon the front of the upper portion 22 thereof. The fold 21 issituated below the middle of the bag a suflicient dis tance so that thebottom fold 11 of said bag falls considerably'below the upper edge ofthe front body member 12 as clearly shown in Fig 3. The lapping top andbottom portions 20 and 21 of the bag are folded jointly along two folds23 and 24 extending at right angles with respect to fold 21, wing-likemarginal portions of the folded structure, meeting edge to edge alon thecenter of the bag at the back thereof as est shown inFig. 2. Thistransforms the shopping bag into a handbag of greatly reduced dimensionsand forms two compartments or pouches 25 and 26 in which variousarticles may be placed when the bag is used in its folded form. Thecompartment 25 is enclosed by the two body members 12 and 13 andterminates at the folds 21, 23 and 2 1, being a confined portion of theentire space within the receptacle A. The compartment 26 is enclosedbetween the folded portions of the front body member 13,

the same terminating at the folds 21, 23 and" 199 24. For illustratingthe utility of this compartment a handkerchief 27' is shown in Fig. 3 asinserted within the same. The fold '21 as will become apparent forms afalse bottom for both of these compartments so that articles may beplaced therein and so kept without danger of loss.

The manner of holding the bag in folded form can best be comprehendedfrom an inspection of Figs. 1, 2 and 4. Along the upper edge of theback'body member 12, is attached by means of a seam 28, a keeper flap29. This keeper fiap is adapted to cover the meeting edges of thewing-like marginal portions of the folded bag structure. Upon thiskeeper flap are attached snap fastener members 30, which are adapted toco-operate with complemental snap 'fastener members 31 secured to theback body member near the lower corners thereof. .When these fastenermembers are engaged, the keeper flap 29 ties together the foldedwing-like marginal portions of the bag and prevents the sagging thereof,whereby all of the folded ortions of the bag are prevented fromunolding, so that the compartments in the same,-

. may be'utilized without danger of the bag coming apart. To hold keeperflap 29 in place when the bag is extended for use as a shopping bag, Iprovide two snap fastener members 32, which are secured to the back bodymember 12 beneath the snap fastener members 30. When these sna fastenermembers 30 and 32 are interloc ed, flap 29 is caused to lie fiat againstthe bag proper in inconspicuous position of disuse.

In conjunction with the compartments 25 and 26 for holding articles ofmerchandise, I employ a coin purse 33 shown in Fig. .3, which may besecured to the front body member 13 by stitching or in any othersuitable manner. This purse may be constructed of the same material asthe remainder of the bag and consists of a front 34: and back 35terminating in a flap 36 which front and back may be stitched-togetherat.their edges and to the body member 13. The flap 36 is secured to thepurse 33 by means of a snap fastener 37 in the usual manner- In the useof the invention as a shopping bag the fastener members 30 areunloosened from the fastener members 31 and the folded 'ortions of thebag unfolded and dropped.

rior to this, however, it becomes necessary to remove articles fromcompartment 26 as this compartment disappears when the bag is unfolded.As to. articles in compartment 25, the same may be left therein as theysimplydrop to the bottom of the receptacle when the bag is unfolded. Itwill be noted that the position of the coin purse is the same whetherthe bag is extended orwhether it is folded so that said purse isconveniently accessible at all times. The turning of the wing-likemarginal portions of the lapping upper and lower portions 20 and 22 ofthe 2. In folding up the bag, when it is desired-to use it as a handbag,said bag is folded successively along the lines 21, 23 and 24 asexplained, and the fastener members 30 on flap 29 engaged with fastenermembers 31 on body member 12. The portion 20 of bag A is preferablyfolded so that the bottom 11 of the folded bag falls somewhat below theupper edge thereof, which leaves sufiicient space for attaching thepurse 33 to the body member 13 without interference with the foldedv uportion 20. With this ai'rangement artic es may be readily placed in or'removed from the compartment or pouch 26 without catching on said purse.

The invention is particularly advantageous in that the entire bag may bemade of the same material and does not require any. special machineryfor its manufacture. The

bag is handsome in appearance in both its extended and folded form andmay be quickly changed to either form.

Changes in the specific form of my inven-- tion,as herein disclosed, maybe made within the scope of what is claimed without departing from thespirit of my invention.

Having described my invention, -what I claim as new and desire toprotect by Letters Patent is:

1. A shopping bag comprising front and back body members forming areceptacle open at its top, a flap secured to one of said body membersalong the upper edge thereof, the marginal portions of'said back at theopen end thereof being cut away at either side of said flap, said bagbeing foldable transversely to bring the lower portion thereof upon theupper portion, both of said upper and lower portions being foldablejointly along longitudinal lines to bring portions thereof together edgeto edge upon the surface to which said flap. is attached and beneathsaid flap, said cut-away marginal porglions falling freely belowthe seamof said 2. A shopping .bag comprising a receptacle, the lower portionthereof being foldable upon the upper portion, both of said lower andupper portions, in lapping relation, being foldable ointly along linesextending between the middle and the side edges of said bag to bringwing-like marginal portions of the folded structure upon the oppositeside of said bag so as to provide a pouch between said upper and lowerbag portions confined between said folds, a fla securedto said bagadapted to overlie the adjacent edges of said folded win -like marginalportions, and cooperating astener members secured to said flap and tosaid wing-like portions of said bag for holding the bag folded, saidpouch remaining open upon the attachment of said flap to said wing-likeportions.

A shopping bag comprising front and back body members forming areceptacle open at its top, a purse secured to one of said body membersat the upper part thereof, a flap secured to the other of said bodymembers along the upper edge thereof opposite said purse, the marginalportions of said bag at the open end thereof being cut away at eitherside of said flap and purse,'said bag being foldable transversely tobring the lower portion thereof upon the upper ortion with the loweredge of said bag fal ing beneath the lower edge of said purse, both ofsaid lower and upper portions being foldable jointly along longitudinallines to bring portions thereof t'ogether edge to edge on the oppositeside of said bag and beneath said flap, said cut-away marginal portionsfalling freely below the seam of said fiap,the folding of said bagportions providing a pouch between said upper and lower ortions confinedbetween said folds, and astenermembers on said bag and flap for holdingsaid folded portions in folded position.

4. A bag including a front and a back, a flap secured along its uppermar in to the upper margin of the back medial y thereof, the bottomportion of the be being foldable upon the upper portion of the front ofsaid bag, said folded structure bein further foldable along two spacedlines to rin the marginal portions at the sides thereo upon the back ofthe bag and into position between said flap and said back, the upperedges of both front and back at either side of the flap being lower thanthe junction between said flap and said back to cause the upper edges ofsaid marginal portions to clear the junction between said flap and back,and means for fastening the flap to said marginal portions in thefoldedposition thereof to tie said portions together and to support themagainst sagging.

5. A bag including a front and a back, a flap secured along its up ermargin to the upper margin of the bee the bottom portion of the bag beinfoldable upon the upper portion of the front of said bag, said foldedstructure being further foldable along two spaced lines to bring themarginal ortions at the sides thereof upon the bee of the bag and intoposition between said flap and said back, and means for fastening the vture being further foldable along two spaced lines to bring the marginalportions upon the back of the bag and into position between saidfiap andbag, fastening members secured on said back near the corners thereof,and eomplemental fastening members secured to said flap adapted to engae said first named fastening members, said ap serving to hold saidfolded structure in closed position and to preventithesag of the foldedportions of the bag.

7. A bag including a front and back, a flap secured along its uppermargin to the upper margin of the bag, the bottom portion of the bagbeing foldable upon the upper portion of the front of the bag, saidfolded structure being further foldable upon the reverse side of the bagso as to leave the bottom edge of the bag free along the front of thebag to provide an open pouch and means formed on said flap and bag forholding the folded corner portions of said bag in fixed positionrelative to the bag to preserve the form of the pouch formed between thefolded structure of said bag.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification.

ELMER CLIFFORD GARLSON.

. flap to. said marginal portions in the folded i per margin 0 the baposition thereof to tie said and to support them a portions togetherainst sa ging. 6. A bag including a rent ant? ac a'flap' secured alonits upper margin to t e upthe bag being foldab e upon the u per portionof the front of the bag, said fol ed structhe bottom portion of

